Father Michael Cooney, pastor of St. Peter Church in the Detroit suburb of Mount Clemens, has engaged in “a bit of Irish diplomacy,” as he calls it, to send a message to parishioners about a source of frustration for him and many other priests: people who leave Mass early and don’t stay for the dismissal. He has posted a sign at each of the church’s exits reading, “Judas left early too.”

The effort has had a positive effect, he tells The Michigan Catholic, newspaper of the Detroit Archdiocese. The reason, he feels, is that he introduced the signs with humor, rather than scolding the congregation.